Citation Nr: 0416090
Decision Date: 06/21/04 Archive Date: 06/30/04
DOCKET NO. 03-25 036A ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Roanoke,
Virginia
THE ISSUES
1. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip
disorder.
2. Entitlement to service connection for a disorder of the
eyes, other than glaucoma.
3. Entitlement to service connection for pulmonary
tuberculosis.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Armed Forces Services Corp.
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
J. Fussell, Counsel
REMAND
The veteran had active duty from August 1979 to February
2001.
This case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board)
on appeal from a July 2002 rating decision of the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Roanoke,
Virginia.
In her August 2003 substantive appeal, on VA Form 9, the
appellant requested a hearing at the RO before a Member of
the Board (Veterans Law Judge (VLJ)). This type of hearing
is commonly referred to as a travel Board hearing.
So one must be scheduled. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.703, 20.704
(2002).
Accordingly, this case is REMANDED to the RO for the
following:
Schedule the veteran for a travel Board
hearing at the earliest opportunity.
Notify her of the date, time and location
of the hearing. Put a copy of this
letter in the claims file. If, for
whatever reason, she decides that she no
longer wants this type of hearing before
a VLJ (or any other type of hearing
before the Board), then she should
indicate this in writing and it, too,
should be documented in the claims file.
Thereafter, the case should be returned to the Board, if in
order. The Board intimates no opinion as to the ultimate
outcome of this case. The veteran need take no action unless
otherwise notified. She has the right to submit additional
evidence and argument concerning the claim the Board has
remanded to the RO. Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App. 369
(1999).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO.
The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the
Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or
other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious
manner. See The Veterans Benefits Act of 2003, Pub. L. No.
108-183, § 707(a), (b), 117 Stat. 2651 (2003) (to be codified
at 38 U.S.C. §§ 5109B, 7112).
Keith W. Allen
Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 2002), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This remand is in the
nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.
38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2003).